Postbank of Germany gets phone-banking system.

A leading German bank has taken its first steps toward more modern telephone banking by installing an automated system similar to those in some U.S. banks.

Postbank, a Bonn-based bank, installed a voice-recognition telephone-banking service supplied by Controlware, a German distributor for Phoenix-based technology vendor Syntellect Inc.

Syntellect supplies telecommunications systems to several American banks, including First Interstate Bank.

The interactive voice-response service allows the German bank's customers -- most of whom do not have touch-tone service -- to obtain basic information through a voice-recognition path.

Available Functions

Customers can check account balances or credit, order statements, and make general account inquiries during any time of the day.

"Their telephone services are a bit antiquated, to be polite," said Margaret Hall, a spokes-woman for Syntellect.

The new system can handle about 2 million calls a month and operates nearly 400 phone lines.

The voice-recognition system automates the call-answering process, with a digital recording to lead callers through the service.

The necessary information is retrieved from a host computer and spoken to the customer, and in some cases, information is relayed back to update the computer's records.

High Acceptance Rate Seen

"The installation of the Syntellect interactive voice-recognition system has proved extremely successful and Postbank is very pleased with the high acceptance rate of the system," said Andrea Wiegand, a sales manager for Postbank, in a prepared statement.

It is the most sophisticated telephone-banking service in Germany, bank executives say.

Bank executives are planning to expand the service to provide fund transfers and amend previous orders.

Postbank operated as the banking division of the national Deutsche Bundespost before being established as an independent bank in 1989.

The bank holds more than 24 million savings accounts.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER